This invention relates to a lipidic composition intended for use as a food or in food products.
Apart from their function as an energy source, lipids perform several functions in nutrition as a source of essential fatty acids:
as components crucial to the cell structure and to the membranal functions, PA1 as precursors of eicosanoidal metabolites which figure in numerous physiological systems, such as the cardiovascular, immune, respiratory and digestive systems, PA1 as blood lipid regulators. PA1 the contribution in food terms made by saturated fatty acids should be limited on account of their effect on the increase in cholesterol and total lipids, PA1 an excessively high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the regime is undesirable due on the one hand to their negative effect on the cholesterol of beneficial high-density lipoproteins (HDL) and, on the other hand, to the risks associated with the peroxidation of fatty acids which has adverse effects at the cell level, PA1 monounsaturated fatty acids do not involve the risks mentioned above and have a favourable effect on reduction of the cholesterol of the troublesome low-density lipoproteins (LDL), PA1 the physiological functions of the fatty acids also differ within one and the same family, depending on the length of the carbon chain. For example, in the n-6 family of fatty acids, there is one fatty acid, namely gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which has a more pronounced activity than the other members on blood lipid control. The same applies to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in the n-3 family.
The physiological response to the consumption of edible oils depends upon the fatty acid composition of the oils. The fatty acids are classified into different families, n-9, n-6 and n-3, according to their structure, i.e., in dependence upon the presence and position of the double bonds in the carbon chain. Each family has its own specific activity, although there are interactions between the various families during the metabolism. In the case of blood lipid control, several criteria have to be taken into consideration, namely: